Luke and I were introduced to George after Church on the first Sunday in Jaco. Our contact Hannah wanted us to meet him before we joined his ministry at the park on Wednesday night. George was shorter and thick. He wore shorts that hung down past his knee’s like baggy capris. He had those funny reading glasses that come apart in the middle of the frame and then come back together magnetically when being used. They dangled from his neck by a necklace. (I starred at them and couldn’t believe that my dad hasn’t discovered those and purchased a pair by now.) His hair was spiky and slicked back a bit.
He shook our hands and proved to speak good english but couldn’t hide his thick Central American accent. He told us he was excited for us to join him on Wednesday and was a little shifty about talking to us at first. Then the next thing I know Hannah had to practically tug us away from the conversation. His passion for God was evident and emotional.
George had jumped into stories of his life. He wanted us to know right away that he takes no credit for anything. God is his translator for now on and he had given his life to the Lord. Anything crafted by himself would result in a screwup and so he gave it all up to God.
We stood there in front of the Church as George told us about his old life as a gangster, he explained parts of his life where people had tried to kill him. He’d been shot at by machine guns and tossed over a bridge that was famously known to have crocodiles beneath it. The crocodile story especially caught our attention because we stopped at a bridge on our way to Jaco from San Jose to watch giant croc’s sun bath and swim around beneath us for about twenty minutes.
When Wednesday finally rolled around we quickly discovered that George was respected among the locals. There was a group of about twenty homeless men and women around the town square shaking hands and getting ready for George’s lesson. He preached, and although I could only make out little bits of his Spanish Sermon, people listened and would nod their heads and agree with his teachings. He eventually finished with a powerful prayer and then we helped him put some sandwiches together to hand out.
After everyone was full, people had dispersed but some stayed behind to hug George and have him pray over them and he was more than willing to do so. At the property that night Luke, Joey and I talked about George and more of his stories that he shared on the walk back from the square.
They asked him how he came to follow Christ after going through such a rough past. George described a specific night where he scrounged up all the drugs he had laying around to take at once. Something that he was used to doing at the time. I couldn’t begin to remember each specific substance and how much but George was too high for his own good that night. He had injured a couple of people and couldn’t control himself any longer, eventually he found himself in front of a Church and was praying to God and said, “If you make me sober then I will follow you.” With some witnesses from within the church George was instantly, “more sober than he’s ever been before.” And since that specific point he has been following Christ, and from what I’ve seen and witnessed he’s very good at it.
George has confessed to rape, dealing and using drugs, murder, sex trafficking and more. He spent a good portion of his life in prison and could communicate in seven different languages due to dealing drugs.
As I sat this Wednesday waiting in the square, there didn’t seem to be anyone around. I watched as a homeless guy sipped slowly on his coke, (I was informed not to give him seconds last week because he mixes it with rubbing alcohol.) I saw a dad nearby kicking a ball with his two year old son. The dad was expressing complete joy through his laughter and smile each time his son made good contact with the ball. As I was sitting there I began to realize how important relationships are in our lives.
Then George showed up in a taxi and in a blink of an eye the square was filling up. George walked around and hugged his friends, he made them look at his camera and he took pictures of each person he came into contact with. During his lesson a taxi driver would roll up close to the sidewalk to hear his words in-between his driving services. At the end of his sermon and after we had served the food, George came over to me and made sure that I had been fed, I assured him that I had been and he smiled and began talking to me about soccer. He told me he wanted to film me playing sometime this next week. My mind went back to the importance of relationships.
